Ahhhhh... from Feminist SF... Deb links us to Pam Noles on ComicCon. Now this is exactly the kind of dynamic I'm talking about between men and women in public contexts. When men define the terms of the conversation, they can't even *hear* women's questions... and don't answer them, to the point where women give up on asking and go away. If I had a nickel for every time I've heard some guy ask "why don't women read comic books"... and then when they do, and they speak up... simultaneously objectify as sex object & diss as crazy (As Hudlin did).
A black woman got to the mic and asked the panelists why she is more likely to consistently find rounded portrayals of black women in books created by white British male authors. She gave a bunch of examples, primarily from Vertigo books.Rza answered that she has to wait for the men to get established, as they are just now getting through the door. Judging from the hoots, jeers and inarticulate screams of outrage from the crowd, that did not go over well. Davis the First’s joke about angry black women was funny, but didn’t completely diffuse the vibe.
The woman then said that she’s 47-years-old, she’s been reading comics since she was a little girl, and asked how long was she expected to wait.
Rza’s response: You’re 47? Wow, you look good for 47. No, really, isn’t she hot for 47? And so forth. [. . . ]
With that first comment, Rza utilized the standard gender-based approach misogynists have relied upon since the beginning of time to completely dismiss women who presume themselves to be in possession of a working brain. His follow up made it worse. In the end, neither the questioner nor anyone else in the audience got an actual answer to an interesting question. . .
And Noles' description of what happened when a guy stood up to ask a question -- well that just about the perfect sum-up of what happens in patriarchy and how guys take what other guys say seriously and groove on it.
A guy got up to the mic and launched into Testifying about martial arts movies. [. . .]Hudlin said, wanna see how to get one made? He looks to his left and says to Rza, wanna do a black kung-fu flick? Rza says, sure! They shake hands. Cowan reaches over with let me get a piece of that, bumps fists with them, and he’s in on it too. And the huzzahs rose joyously from the audience.
Boom! Just like that, we all witnessed a deal go down.
Imagine if it would ever, ever, ever fucking happen the other way around. Man says "How about doing what I want to see in books/comics movies?" and gets the response, "Sorry, you'l have to wait 47 years for THAT to happen. By the way, you sure are pretty!" Woman says "Hey, what about black women in comics? Guys-in-power look around at each other and collective fist-bumping lightbulb goes "ding!" and they go "yeah! let's do it! rock on!" Well I'm for one not holding my fucking breath for that to happen and therefore women have to make it happen themselves.
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